Review 10-001 - TF2 Dirge

[griffin]

Review 10-001 - Dirge
Series - TF2 Movie (non-cast character)
Sub-line - NEST (Movie 2nd season)
Size - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 2009-w7
Released here - December 2009
Approximate Retail Price - $25
Approximate Size - 15cm
Allegiance - Decepticon
Alt-mode - Fighter Jet, a bit like a VTOL/Harrier jet, but different enough to avoid paying royalties.
Main Features/Gimmicks - Mech-Alive, internal gears that move when rotating the arms at the shoulders.
Main Colours - Dark Blue (darker than the photo suggests), black, bronze.
Main Accessories - 2 missile-launchers and missiles.
My Difficulty rating (out of 5) - 2.5 (fairly easy to work out)
Stability - a bit shaky on its feet as there are 5 joints in each leg(!) that needs to be aligned to make it stand.
Poseability/articulation - High level of articulation, with the only drawback being the large shoulder-pads getting in the way, and the wings on the legs.
Playability - Fighter Jet is a win, as are the missile-launchers. Transformation is simple enough to maintain momentum (fun) of play/battle, something many of the Movie toys suffer from, taking too long to convert the toys to be able to play with them in battle with yourself or with a friend. The robot mode doesn't suffer from too much excessive kibble getting in the way, as the wings stick out the back and aren't too much in the way.
My Thoughts - The packaging and instructions have the wings sticking out from the legs, but I prefer to have them folded against the legs. The packaging also has the missile launchers attached to the wings in robot mode, which make the fat legs look even worse. Dirge is one of the rarer figures that doesn't have total symmetry - specifically, the arms. Detailing is nice, and the robot mode has a humanoid shape. The head seems too big for its proportions, and too rounded. It looks like a melon, not a cone. A nice homage toy though, and the first Dirge toy that isn't a redeco or remould.
Overall Recommendation Rating (out of 10) - 8.5 (Buy it)